Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
51-8013 Power Plant Operators
Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators. Excludes “Nuclear Power Reactor Operators” (51-8011).
National estimates for Power Plant Operators
Industry profile for Power Plant Operators
Geographic profile for Power Plant Operators
National estimates for Power Plant Operators:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Power Plant Operators:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 28,960 |
1.8 % |
$ 40.26 |
$ 83,740 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Power Plant Operators:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 23.37 |
$ 30.23 |
$ 38.87 |
$ 48.24 |
$ 53.17 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 48,610 |
$ 62,890 |
$ 80,850 |
$ 100,340 |
$ 110,590 |
Industry profile for Power Plant Operators:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Power Plant Operators are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Power Plant Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Power Plant Operators:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution |
20,010 |
5.32 |
$ 41.31 |
$ 85,920 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
3,590 |
0.07 |
$ 37.12 |
$ 77,200 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
780 |
0.03 |
$ 27.30 |
$ 56,780 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
750 |
0.69 |
$ 56.80 |
$ 118,140 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
670 |
0.03 |
$ 36.48 |
$ 75,870 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Power Plant Operators:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution |
20,010 |
5.32 |
$ 41.31 |
$ 85,920 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
750 |
0.69 |
$ 56.80 |
$ 118,140 |
| Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills |
200 |
0.23 |
$ 35.75 |
$ 74,370 |
| Water, Sewage and Other Systems |
70 |
0.13 |
$ 32.90 |
$ 68,440 |
| Metal Ore Mining |
40 |
0.09 |
$ 43.74 |
$ 90,970 |
Top paying industries for Power Plant Operators:
Geographic profile for Power Plant Operators:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Power Plant Operators are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Power Plant Operators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Power Plant Operators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
2,540 |
0.15 |
0.75 |
$ 47.53 |
$ 98,860 |
| New York |
1,870 |
0.22 |
1.05 |
$ 44.92 |
$ 93,430 |
| Michigan |
1,410 |
0.35 |
1.69 |
$ 42.13 |
$ 87,630 |
| Indiana |
1,320 |
0.44 |
2.15 |
$ 40.39 |
$ 84,010 |
| Pennsylvania |
1,320 |
0.24 |
1.15 |
$ 38.37 |
$ 79,820 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Power Plant Operators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
550 |
1.86 |
9.06 |
$ 36.72 |
$ 76,390 |
| North Dakota |
440 |
1.12 |
5.45 |
$ 43.87 |
$ 91,240 |
| Hawaii |
550 |
1.00 |
4.87 |
$ 44.08 |
$ 91,680 |
| Wyoming |
250 |
0.97 |
4.74 |
$ 40.77 |
$ 84,800 |
| West Virginia |
310 |
0.47 |
2.29 |
$ 36.55 |
$ 76,020 |
Top paying states for Power Plant Operators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Washington |
480 |
0.15 |
0.73 |
$ 55.48 |
$ 115,390 |
| California |
2,540 |
0.15 |
0.75 |
$ 47.53 |
$ 98,860 |
| New Jersey |
450 |
0.12 |
0.57 |
$ 45.29 |
$ 94,190 |
| New York |
1,870 |
0.22 |
1.05 |
$ 44.92 |
$ 93,430 |
| New Mexico |
200 |
0.26 |
1.26 |
$ 44.56 |
$ 92,680 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Power Plant Operators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,420 |
0.16 |
0.80 |
$ 47.47 |
$ 98,730 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
640 |
0.11 |
0.55 |
$ 45.13 |
$ 93,870 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
620 |
0.15 |
0.71 |
$ 45.08 |
$ 93,770 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
490 |
0.27 |
1.31 |
$ 42.25 |
$ 87,870 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
470 |
0.18 |
0.87 |
$ 43.06 |
$ 89,560 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
420 |
0.16 |
0.79 |
$ 42.56 |
$ 88,530 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
380 |
0.96 |
4.68 |
$ 43.32 |
$ 90,100 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
340 |
0.19 |
0.92 |
$ 43.35 |
$ 90,170 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
330 |
0.26 |
1.25 |
$ 37.62 |
$ 78,250 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
300 |
0.12 |
0.59 |
$ 36.49 |
$ 75,910 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Power Plant Operators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| El Centro, CA |
130 |
2.23 |
10.86 |
$ 32.82 |
$ 68,270 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
70 |
1.99 |
9.70 |
$ 38.50 |
$ 80,080 |
| Bismarck, ND |
130 |
1.88 |
9.13 |
$ 43.96 |
$ 91,440 |
| Wenatchee, WA |
70 |
1.41 |
6.86 |
$ 59.22 |
$ 123,180 |
| Terre Haute, IN |
80 |
1.30 |
6.31 |
$ 38.37 |
$ 79,810 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
380 |
0.96 |
4.68 |
$ 43.32 |
$ 90,100 |
| Redding, CA |
60 |
0.92 |
4.48 |
$ 51.77 |
$ 107,680 |
| Springfield, IL |
80 |
0.84 |
4.07 |
$ 41.90 |
$ 87,160 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
50 |
0.81 |
3.94 |
$ 48.56 |
$ 101,000 |
| Hattiesburg, MS |
50 |
0.79 |
3.86 |
$ 41.71 |
$ 86,750 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Power Plant Operators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Fresno, CA |
90 |
0.25 |
1.22 |
$ 62.33 |
$ 129,650 |
| Wenatchee, WA |
70 |
1.41 |
6.86 |
$ 59.22 |
$ 123,180 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
220 |
0.22 |
1.07 |
$ 55.13 |
$ 114,660 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
110 |
0.06 |
0.29 |
$ 53.17 |
$ 110,600 |
| Redding, CA |
60 |
0.92 |
4.48 |
$ 51.77 |
$ 107,680 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
280 |
0.13 |
0.62 |
$ 50.68 |
$ 105,420 |
| Modesto, CA |
30 |
0.17 |
0.83 |
$ 50.68 |
$ 105,410 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR |
70 |
0.12 |
0.56 |
$ 49.80 |
$ 103,580 |
| Merced, CA |
40 |
0.60 |
2.91 |
$ 49.12 |
$ 102,170 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
30 |
0.11 |
0.51 |
$ 48.62 |
$ 101,120 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Power Plant Operators:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Power Plant Operators:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Power Plant Operators:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
